Newsletter Mayberry-McFarland Weekly News

for the week of April 23, 2018

Due Dates / Upcoming Events:

Monday, April 30: weekly reading logs due

Tuesday, May 1: April Reading Calendars are due / Home Link due / McFarlands have P.E. (sneakers, please)

Wednesday, May 2: early release day

Thursday, May 3: math journal pages due

Friday, May 4: Home Link due / SpellingCity activities due + in-class test

Monday, April 7: weekly logs are due (8 days)

Special Announcements:

Tuesday’s author visit from Andrew Clements was excellent!  As a former teacher, he’s a natural in front of a large group of children.  He started by showing us photos of himself as a child reading favorite books and being read to by his parents.  Lots of his photos included bookcases and bookshelves stocked with books from his childhood, from his grandparents’ collections, and of course books he’s written.  Some of Andrew Clements’ big ideas were:

• Writing is hard work.  I don't wait for ideas to come to me.
• Writers use things that happen in their own lives as parts of their writing.
• I wouldn't be The Visiting Author here today if my parents hadn't read to me/given me books/shown me how important books are.
• Teachers aren't going to do your work for you; their job is to help you do your best work.
• Inspiration happens after you start writing.

FREE National Parks Passes for Fourth-Graders

Saw this on-line the other day… http://www.dontwasteyourmoney.com/child-4th-grade-get-free-national-parks-membership-family/?utm_campaign=getcrafty&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=partner&utm_partner=getcrafty

Academic Updates

Writing Workshop

This week, we did some review work with personal and persuasive essays in preparation for Friday’s writing prompt.  Next week, writing teachers will score all of the prompts and will use the results to reflect on current instruction and plan for future instruction.

Reading Workshop

We used our reading workshop time this week to kick off our newest writing unit: poetry!  The Crossover is a Newberry Winner written in verse.  Check out the book trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=modPFEyuBYg

And check out a short interview with the author, Kwame Alexander: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=8ygCxaDqswA

The book is intended for middle-schoolers, and the content reflects that; it’s not a “light” read.  We listened to the dynamic audio version this week. Students had the option to just listen or to work on any of a number of related activities while we listened:

• vocabulary bingo - words from the book, complete with definitions
• tracking Josh’s feelings throughout the story
• reading along with a copy of the book
• a story mountain
• using a film strip to illustrate scenes
• “texting” me or a reading partner thoughts, comments, and questions

  

No, Connor’s not asleep; there’s a book in his lap!

 

Owen, reading along

girls “texting” each other about the book, Vocabulary Bingo off to the side

Layla following along and Hailey “texting” me

Besides enjoying the story and language of this unusual book, we’ll revisit it to study the author’s craft as we explore poetry this spring!

Math

This week we brought unit 6 to a close. Students started the week with a review of division and how to interpret a remainder in a number story. We also spent some time with measurement conversions involving units of weight. At the end of the week students completed the unit 6 assessment. Progress results will be sent home soon.

Theme

Upon our return from vacation we continued our colonial unit with an emphasis on the early settlement of Jamestown. Students are enjoying the reading of Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone and in one of the scenes they learn that the colonists struggled with finding clean, drinkable water. As a spinoff, in science, students created a device to filter some very dirty water. They were very successful and found that water can be cleaned pretty well with a few simple items.